Bush’s elusiveness has gone missing

Reggie Bush has the richest marketing portfolio for any rookie in NFL history. His No. 25 is currently the league’s top-selling jersey. He’s considered a community pillar in hurricane-ravaged New Orleans and, at least for now, he appears to have distanced himself from the illegal-payments scandal that dogged him last spring at USC.

The only time Bush isn’t making strides these days is when he’s handed the football.

Through the first seven games of the New Orleans Saints’ season, Bush is the league’s 47th-ranked rusher with 212 yards in 70 carries and no touchdowns. Above him on the list are rookies Joseph Addai of Indianapolis, Laurence Maroney of New England, Wali Lundy of Houston, Leon Washington of the New York Jets, Jerious Norwood of the Atlanta Falcons and, most notably, former UCLA standout Maurice Jones-Drew of Jacksonville.

That’s not to say Bush, the No. 2 pick, is anything close to a bust. He’s sixth in the league in receptions, and he beat Tampa Bay last month with a 65-yard punt return for a touchdown.

It’s just that Bush can’t make people miss in the NFL the way he did at USC, when he ran around and through defenders as if they were stalks of corn.

“I know it’s got to be frustrating for him,” said Eric Dickerson, who still holds the NFL rookie rushing record with 1,808 yards in 1983. “He’s a talented player, and they expect a lot out of him. Sometimes it’s hard to deliver.”

There are several reasons Bush has yet to have a breakout game. Frequently, it looks as if he’s hitting an opening too early, before the hole has developed. He hasn’t gotten into a rhythm, either, with Deuce McAllister being the primary back. Also, the Saints have an offensive line that’s better at pass protection than run blocking.

Still, Bush has underperformed. At USC, he would take a handoff, shoot through a hole and leave defenders tackling his ghost. In the NFL, he’s often tried to bounce outside only to be engulfed by a gang of tacklers.

“Once he can get to the second level [of defenders], then he can use those great open-field running skills,” said an NFC personnel executive who asked not to be named. “But he has to get there first. At this level, you can’t do all that behind the line of scrimmage because the players are just too fast.”

The executive expected Bush’s rushing numbers to be a little better, but “once he’s familiar with the playbook, and once he adjusts his game to what works and what doesn’t, I’m sure he’ll be fine.”

USC Coach Pete Carroll said he hasn’t watched enough of Bush this season to form an opinion on how he’s doing. But he pointed out that Kansas City’s Larry Johnson, among the league’s top backs, needed some time to get comfortable as a pro running back.

“It’s really hard to hold Reggie down for very long,” Carroll told The Times. “And once he understands how they want to play and use him, where he can take advantage of his opportunities, I think he’ll be a spectacular player.”

Bush must get last Sunday’s loss to Baltimore out of his system. It was his worst game as a pro, with just 16 yards rushing in five carries, and he threw an interception in the end zone on a halfback-option pass. He left the game in the fourth quarter with a sprained ankle, later accusing Baltimore linebacker Bart Scott of intentionally inflicting the injury.

(Scott initially said he “put a little hot sauce” on Bush’s ankle, but later said that comment was a reference to playing in Louisiana.)

Bush was back to practice this week and should be ready Sunday when the Saints play at Tampa Bay.

Merely having Bush on the field is a boost to his teammates, regardless of how effectively he’s running out of the backfield, former Cowboys receiver Michael Irvin said.

“He gives the guys around him hope,” Irvin said, so his teammates “continue to play hard. Just knowing that he can break one at any time gives players hope.”

Hope can’t be measured by statistics. Yards can. And there’s no denying Bush has taken a big step backward in that department.

Mr. Everything

The league doesn’t give awards for this category, but the most versatile player this season has been New York Jets rookie Brad Smith.

A former record-breaking quarterback at Missouri, Smith has carved out a niche on the Jets as a player who will do anything to get on the field. He has played quarterback, running back and receiver -- against Jacksonville, he lined up at all three on three consecutive plays. He’s also outstanding on special-teams coverage, making eight tackles so far.

Dress rehearsal

Dickerson, Irvin and Lawrence Taylor were at Pierce College in Woodland Hills Thursday filming “The Comebacks,” a goofy comedy about the least successful coach in history leading a team of misfits to victory.

As part of the script, the three former NFL stars were told they just weren’t good enough to make the team.

Later, in describing the scene, Irvin said it was the first time in his football life he’d been cut from a team, even on film.

“But,” he said, “when you see the players they kept, I’d be hurt if I didn’t get cut.”

Dickerson said it was the first time he put on a football uniform since retiring in 1993.

“The funny part was trying to get into these tight pants,” he said. “I still have an athletic body, but if you don’t put on football pants since 1993 you forget how tight they feel. I felt like I was in a dress -- a tight dress.”

sam.farmer@latimes.com

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Moving right along

A look at this season’s top 10 rushing leaders by yards per game:

*--* Rank Player Team Yds. Att. Avg. Yds./G TDs 1. Tiki Barber N.Y. Giants 715 155 4.6 102.1 0 2. LaDainian San Diego 656 150 4.4 93.7 9 Tomlinson 3. Larry Johnson Kansas City 644 172 3.7 92.0 8 4. Warrick Dunn Atlanta 637 142 4.5 91.0 2 5. Frank Gore San Francisco 631 124 5.1 90.1 3 6. Julius Jones Dallas 616 145 4.2 88.0 3 7. Tatum Bell Denver 612 137 4.5 87.8 2 8. Chester Taylor Minnesota 612 147 4.2 87.4 2 9. Steven Jackson St. Louis 605 151 4.0 86.4 3 10. Willis McGahee Buffalo 564 150 3.8 80.6 1

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Reggie Bush is seventh among NFL rookies in yards rushing:

*--* Rank Player Round Team Yds. Att. Avg. Yds./G TDs (Overall) 25. Joseph First (30) Indiana 477 87 5.1 63.9 1 Addai polis 29. Laurence First (21) New 395 94 4.2 56.4 3 England Maroney 31. Wali Lundy Sixth (170) Houston 266 54 4.9 53.2 1 32. Leon Fourth N.Y. 397 86 4.6 49.6 2 (117) Jets Washington 35. Maurice Second (60) Jackson 264 62 4.3 37.7 3 ville Jones-Drew 41. Jerious Third (79) Atlanta 321 47 6.8 45.9 1 Norwood 47. Reggie Bush First (2) New 212 70 3.0 30.3 0 Orleans 49. LenDale Second (45) Tenness 146 33 4.4 29.2 0 White ee 52. DeAngelo First (27) Carolina 139 26 5.3 27.8 1 Williams

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